Signum
by Chesterization
Summary: "You came from Zootopia, didn't you? Anyone can be anything, right? Well, here, anything can happen to you. Horrible and indescribable things." Nick and Judy survived a ship-wrecked. Now trapped on a remote island filled with the occult and insanity; they must escape the unseen curse in the isle before it's too late. Or at least before it takes whole of them.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

The following is a fan-based fiction. Zootopia and its characters are owned by Disney. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well.

For your convenience, all the translations will be put in these brackets []

* * *

(The song Mirror Lake by Susumu Hirasawa begins to play.)

Chesterization proudly presents

A Zootopia fanfiction

 **Signum**

(Song ends)

"It was supposed to be perfect; the perfect vacation for the two of us. Somewhere far away from all the prejudice in Zootopia; and a little closer to the tropical sun." That's what I thought, days before I found myself clinging to this piece of…something. Waves upon waves of violent sea slapped against us. The strong wind made rain drops felt like bullets, definitely not the vacation I have in mind.

It was near impossible for me to steer this piece of debris. Or at least I think it was debris. Everything around me was dark. The salty water that held my chest and the sky above were pure black. Occasionally, things lit up with a strike of thunder. That flash of light couldn't help much. But, it did grant me short moments of peace. Peace, knowing that the mammal that I hold on to with one of my hands was Judy. I paid too much attention to her that I did not question the thing that was saving our lives. Though, I swear that its surface felt like flesh sometimes. Flesh resembled that of elephants' but rougher, like sand paper.

Judy and I couldn't get onto a lifeboat. Not because we were late. But because well, we were less, quote unquote 'Important.' Even after the Titanic had made into a film, we animals still think. 'Heh, we have learned so much from the tragedy. We can build unsinkable ships now.'

I find it rather funny that the lesson they take away from that was not making sure there are lifeboats for everyone. Instead, it is, 'we need not worry. After a feel tweaks, we will regain control over nature. Nothing can stop us; we are mammals after all.' Well, I guess whoever had said that, were wrong.

Though, it was lucky for us for things to have happened that way. Why? Because I'm sure as hell those who were on the lifeboats were all dead by now. It's so strange. Usually, I have this feeling of satisfaction whenever I'm right. But, satisfaction was not what I felt as I held on to that piece of something. No. What I felt were dread and concern. Concern that my less than impressive strength could keep us on, whatever this thing was.

And despite my best effort to keep myself awake with fear and concentration. I still passed out at some point, trusting our fates on something, as we floated to, somewhere.

 **Chapter 1: "Welcome to Hon Dao."**

Judy gradually regained her consciousness. Her body felt heavy. The overwhelming dampness and dried salt on her fur urged the rabbit to wake up. Her thought rang. _Wake up and do something to reclaim comfort_. She wanted to obey. She wanted to take a long warm shower. She wanted to do them all so bad. But the exhausted body would not let her. The large body of sand underneath seemed to have a life of its own. It held Judy in place. This made the process of getting up infinitely harder.

Judy could rest a little longer. True, but the grains of sand and salt in her nostrils told her otherwise. Physically, she was in a similar position to those who suffer both depression and anxiety. Feeling the unchained craving to run away out of fear (for something was wrong); accompanied by powerlessness and exhaustion. All made for a nasty concoction that turned mere two minutes into an hour-long torture session. After the stench of dried blood and flesh had wormed its way through the microcracks between the grains of sand in her nose, she decided to make a desperate push. She must get up.

Judy started by lifting her head up. She opened her mouth and took in as much air as possible. Salty air and specs of sand jumped into her mouth, latching onto her tongue. The rabbit fought the urge to spit them out. Getting up was the priority. Also, she could not afford to lose any more water. Soon, she overcame the grip of the sand on her face. In the back of her head, she swore that the ground was trying to get her to die in the most embarrassing position of all. Die lying down, that was not going to happen to her. Not to Judy Hopps, the first rabbit officer.

She lifted her head up. Her eyes could finally see again. Coconut trees, sand, and the sun. No doubt, she was on a beach. Fortunately, it was not a deserted beach. She could see shacks and houses in the distance. Before she could soak in the scenery, Judy caught up her breath. She inhaled, felt something in the back of her throat, then coughed, expelled all the sand from her mouth (at least most of them).

The rabbit then hyperventilated, restored her oxygen reserve. After her lung had filled with a comfortable amount, she repositioned her hands. She tried to get her head as high as possible. Her arms were shaking from losing heat and exhaustion. She tightened her muscles, steady her arms. Once she had done that, Judy transferred strength in her reserve to her legs. Judy breathed in relief after feeling the tips of her toes moving on her commands. She moved her legs, and gradually got herself up.

Finally, she was back on her feet. The first thing she did was checking behind her. Strange, there was no sign of debris of any kind. She could see pieces of trash washed up on the shore. None of them belonged to the cruise ship, however. She turned back, had a wider look at the beach. Judy found the source of the stench. In the distance, were decaying bodies, but not the kind she was expecting. They were just fish left to dry under the sun. Distributing these fish on the sand were a black and two calico cats. Their clothes suggested that they were all females. The cats just have a quick glance at Judy, then resumed to their task.

Judy's mind immediately reminded her of something utmost important. She put her hands round her mouth, amplifying her sound. "Nick, where are you?" She called out to her partner. The fox did not answer. To her dismay (with a hint of despair), all she had were more prying looks from the feline residents. There were just blank stares instead of that sly and smooth voice. She tightened her eyebrows, took another deep breath and shout. "Nick! Are you there?" A louder voice did not work it seemed. It did not attract Nick, just more gazes from the cats. She turned to her left trying to avoid those piercing gazes.

Then, two tabby cats, one gray female, one orange tabby came into her view. In front of them was three large buckets. The two cats were hiding in the shade provided by an umbrella made out of wood and torn fabrics. In the limited darkness, their eyes glimmered at Judy. The distance between her and them made the lights appeared, eerie.

The light emitted from those glowing marbles silenced Judy. Her ears twitched slightly, feeling an uncanny discomfort. The cats then looked down, forget about the bunny, and returned to their work. They were digging their claws deep inside each fish, ripping out gills and bones with surgeon precision. Soon, each fish achieved a clear separation of flesh and bone in a matter of seconds. Their hands' movements and the dirty yet fluid sound they made, was hypnotic to Judy.

"Co co on khong?" [Are you okay, miss?]

A voice broke her trance. It was the female black cat. She was no longer far away; instead, she was dangerously close to Judy's personal space. She was so close that the rabbit could taste the sweat-infused scent of blood. Before she could try to understand what language the cat was speaking, she asked the cat. "Hey, have you seen Nick. He is a red fox. We were ship-wrecked-"

"No noi cai quy gi the?" [What the hell is she talking about?], A male voice this time. The orange tabby cat was behind her. The rabbit jolted from the sudden appearance. Judy wanted to ask _How did you get there that fast?_ , but instead, she was trying to reclaim some personal space. They were standing too close for comfort.

While Judy was moving away from both, the black cat shrugged. "Co Me Thien Nhien moi biet." [Only Mother Nature would know]. Judy told the cats to back off in a respectable manner. Afterward, she bombarded them with series of questions (where she was, what happened, etc...). Her pace behind these questions slowed down as she went on.

The tabby cat pointed at Judy. His claws drenched in crimson. "Heh, nhin ho kia. Lam nhu noi cham lam minh hieu duoc tieng ay. De thuong that." [Heh, look at her. As if talking slower would make us understand her language. How cute.]

The black cat aggressively waved her hands in front of Judy, signaling her to stop. Once the rabbit obeyed, she showed Judy her palms, her sticky and fish's slime coated palm. With a smile, the black cat snapped her fingers. The sound of the snap was loud enough that Judy could not respond any other way but to wince.

Before long, a large lump of sand rose up. The rabbit hopped backward. The thousand years old instinct told Judy that whatever was under that was a predator-the dangerous kind. Seconds later, she was proven, half wrong. A black kitten burst out from the sand. The little thing shook her head, expelled the leftover sand on her fur. For some reasons, only her upper body was above ground. If not for the sudden entrance, Judy would have found the kitten to be adorable.

The black cat told the kitten; her tone was strict and commanding. "Nga, mang cho me cai ay." [Nga, bring me the thing].

The kitten put her index finger on the rim of her lip "Cai ay nao me?" [What thing, mom?]

The mother stomped her feet. The impact made the kitten cupped her ears in irritation. "Cai ay. Cai dich thuat ay, cai me moi duoc tang hom qua." [The thing. The translator thing, my gift from yesterday.] The mother said, in a louder tone.

The kitten's finger moved away from her lip and pointed upward. "Ah, con biet roi, me cho ti." [Ah, I know, in a moment, mother]. She said, before going back underground. She just buried sand above her, refusing to show the rest of her body. Judy just stood there, frozen. On the contrary to her exterior reaction, he mind was overloaded and running at a frantic pace. _What the hell is going on?_

A moment later, the kitten returned. This time, in her hands, was a large sea snail shell. The patterns on the shell were rather intriguing. At first glance, they just look like random patterns on any old snail shell. However, once Judy focused her vision on them, they started to look like faces. All the faces were different in term of appearances. One thing they have in common? The looked like they were screaming in agony.

The kitten presented 'the thing' to her mother with utmost respect. "Da day me." [There you go, mother].

The mother took it with one hand, patted the kitten with another. The kitten then went back in the sand. She then slowly walked toward Judy. Her hands moved the shell close to the rabbit's face. The cat whistled. Judy's ears then perked up. She would have sworn that she heard dripping noise coming from within the shell. The noise was getting louder until something emerged from the shell.

"Oh, cheeses and crackers! WHAT is that?" Judy screamed before taking a few more steps back.

The black cat said, "Dung so, no hien lam." [Don't be scared, it's gentle], before she moved the snail closer to Judy. "Chi can noi vao day" [Just speak into this]

Judy shook her head, as her body was shivering.

The cat urged them to speak into the creature. "Thoi ma, cuu noi dai di."[Come on, just do it]

The tabby cat grew impatient. "Quen ba no di." [Forget your ancestor]. He tried to grab Judy by her shoulders forcefully. The bunny officer may be on vacation, but he reflex was not. Judy dashed to the side, evaded his grip. She then had a quick look around and made an escape route in her head. Before her feet could go that route, a high pitched sound rung in her ears. Her ankles started to itch.

She looked down, the sand underneath had covered her feet, slightly above her ankles. _What the hell?_

The black cat did not intervene. Not so much as a word of concern. Instead, she just moved closer and said, "Day, chi can noi, 'toi la mot con tho ngoc, ngoc, ngoc'." [Here, just need to say, 'I'm a dumb, dumb, dumb rabbit'].

Judy tried to lift her feet up. She did not know if she had hallucinated it or not, but the sand rose as she did so. She pulled her left foot up, a little more force this time. That was when she realized; the sand did not rise. Instead, it was dragging her down. High pitched ringing sound intensified once her lower half was underneath the sand. The black cat lowered the shell. The creature stretched itself out further, reaching for the warmth radiated from Judy's cheek.

Judy closed her eyes. But the image of the grotesque being had already edged in her mind. The creature inside, its body was no different than a slug. However, the head, the head was not something familiar to Judy. The head (or if one could call it that) had no eye. Instead, it looked like a sunflower. A flower with every one of its petal replaced with cat ears. No, the petals did not look like cat ears, but they were cat ears. All were wiggling, seemingly perked up to listen to Judy's quiet pleas. The middle section, the place where a normal flower housed their seeds, was teeming with round, dark brown lumps. As the ears felt Judy's breath caressing their rims, the lumps cracked open. In between those cracks, were pupils, cat's pupils. All were looking straight at Judy.

Judy tried to reel her head back. "No, please, get that away from me." Her short breath broke her voice a bit. "And please, let me go." She squirmed some more in the sand, but it did nothing. The sand just held her tighter. She could feel an invisible hand grabbed the back of her head and forced her to face the creature inside the shell head on. Judy gritted her teeth, expecting a slimy touch, a bite, or a burn on her fur.

Before the creature could touch her face and crawl across it, the black cat withdrew the shell. The tabby behind her back just scoffed, "Thay khong? Dau co gi la kho. Dua ngoai quoc ngu" [See? It's not that hard. Idiot foreigner] and walked away.

Judy opened her eyes. She was bewildered. Her rabbit feet were on the sand, not underneath it. There was no trace of sand on her body, despite the fact she was nearly submerged in it and were lying on it a second ago. Now that she paid attention, that ringing sound in her ears had subsided. In its absence, was a mild migraine. The pain caused by it was weak, not enough to make her collapse. But, strong enough to keep her urge to bolt out of place as soon and as fast as she could in check. So, unlike those protagonists in horror movies, she did not stay because of idiotic curiosity. Something made her stay.

After a few moments of quiet confusion, Judy noticed that the creature started to glow. At first, it was a faint blue light. Something about that shade of color was just mesmerizing to her. Her muscles were still tense, and the urge to escape still lingered. But her brains and eyes were drawn to the light. As the creature crawled (or slide) back inside, the light grew brighter. Its glow pierced through the shell. As the light turned white, Judy's eyes widen.

The black cat then made a beeline for high pole on the beach. Her movement was swift and soundless. After the pole was in grabbing distance, she looked up at a rusted megaphone on top of it. She then dropped the shell on the sand then picked it up with her tail. The cat got her claws out and jumped on the pole. She started climbing it, with speed almost the same as her running speed. The pace and her finesse made Judy both awestruck and jealous.

Once the cat was at the top, she violently shoved the shell into the megaphone. The sudden shock did not concern the creature, much. In a few second, it slowly squirmed out. This time, its head took the shape of a predator's mouth, completed with fangs and teeth. It extended its body, allowed the mouth the stretch further. The mouth opened wide.

Judy stood still, frozen in place. Questions churned and wrapped around her mind. Before she could even try to comprehend any of them, the creature glowed to its brightest. The mouth immediately spread a ghastly sound. It was low-pitched sound, unlike anything Judy had heard before. Judy felt like her eardrums were under assault. As if that creature violently coiled its body and rammed straight for her middle ear. She took the rims of her ears and pulled them down. It was a desperate attempt to block out the horrid sound. Unfortunately, it did not work. As the creature increased its volume, her headache became stronger. This time, the pain was enough to bring her to her knees.

Unknowing to Judy, the sound waved created by the creature reached all to way to the center of the island. The vibration of that ghastly sound caused a church's bells to ring. And the sound of those bells was what plagued the island fully. Judy could not hear much of the bells, for the creature's sound had overpowered it. After 30 seconds of screaming, the creature closed its mouth and retracted its body. The ghastly sound came from the creature subsided. That headache inside Judy's head disappeared. That made the rabbit released the pressure on her ears. She could hear the whisper of calm wind in the air. The coolness of the wind relaxed her muscles substantially. She felt at ease all the sudden.

The black cat took the shell off the megaphone and slid down the pole. Moments later, every cat around the beach waved and smiled at Judy. Those plastered-on smiles were mirroring Zootopia's overblown commercials rather flawlessly. The black cat took a step back, returned Judy her precious space. Judy turned back and saw the tabby had disappeared. His footprints were on the sands, led back to the shade of his umbrella. He also joined in with the smile and wave crowd. His fangs are a bit more menacing, though.

Seeing Judy's confused expression, the black cat stuck out her right hand, offering a handshake. It somehow made her look more like a Zootopian than some foreigner on a remote island. The black feline greeted in a perfect Zootopian accent. "Ah, now we can speak your language. I am terribly sorry for Cam's behavior." She gestured at the orange tabby. "Please, search your heart the ability to excuse him." She then bowed. "And please, forgive us as well. A few minutes ago, we were ignorant." She stood upright. "However, now, thanks to Mother Nature, we no longer are. Let's begin on a better note, shall we?" The cat gave a quick bow, "Welcome to Hon Dao; a quaint little island that lives off the generosity of Mother Nature. My name is Mun. Glad to be your acquaintance. " She gave Judy a heartwarming smile afterward.

* * *

Author note:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is one of my first stories so, please forgive possible mistakes in the future and help me fix them.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:

The following is a fan-based fiction. Zootopia and its characters are owned by Disney. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well.

* * *

(The song Mirror Lake by Susumu Hirasawa begins to play.)

Chesterization proudly presents

A Zootopia fanfiction

 **Signum**

(Song ends)

 **Chapter 2: The island's mechanic**

"Huh? You want to leave the island?" The black cat put her index finger on her lip. Same mother, same daughter apparently. "Well, sure thing. I would help you, only if I know how." She then shrugged.

Judy frowned at the respond. "What do you mean?"

She looked up to her left, reminiscing. "Well, I have been living here all my life. The same goes for my family, my ancestors in general. None of us ever think about leaving the place."

 _Great, I'm trapped on an island with translating slugs_. Judy thought to herself. She then went for the second obvious solution to her problem, her phone. She pulled out the device from her pocket. Only to remember, that she had survived a shipwreck. And not every day did Judy wrap her phone in the evidence bag. She sighed at the soaked piece of technology. She did not count too much on it anyway. What were the chances of a place like this had service?

She black cat proved her wrong. "Oh, you have a phone? Hum, maybe you can use that."

Judy kicked up her eyebrow. "Maybe?"

Mun nodded. "This island has service." She paused for a smirk. "I'm sure that you thought we wouldn't have that huh? Though, you have to pay Bach a visit."

"Bach?" Judy tried her best to imitate the strange pronunciation. It failed horribly. "Okay, how does that help my case?"

"He is the island's mechanic. The little white ball can fix anything.

 _Little white ball? Please don't tell me it is an actual white ball with slugs strap to it_

"He's the cat that set up the service tower." Before Judy's train of thought ran too far, a jolt of reality pulled her back. "Wait, if that is the case, then can I borrow your phone?"

The black cat shook her head. "I'm sorry, but all of our phones are, broken."

Judy grasped her right ear. "That makes no sense, then why don't you let the 'white ball' fix it?"

Mun shrugged again. "There is no need. Mother Nature broke them for a reason. She convinced us that there is no need for the outside world anymore. Her love is enough for us." Mun smiled.

 _Okay, that sounds, cultish._

The black cat continued. "However, we shall not stop you. You have to accept Mother Nature's love on your own accord. Without that, your love means nothing to her. She despises vanity." Mun then whispered to Judy. "You want to get out, don't you? Run away from this strange and cultish place." The cat winked at Judy. "We are not stopping you. On the contrary, we are helping you."

Judy's purple eyes opened wide. "How did you?"

"What do you mean? You act as if you had seen a ghost." Mun gave her the strangest look before saying. "I'm not surprised, though."

That was Judy's cue the get the hell out. Fortunately, this time, nothing was stopping her. "Okay, er, where can I find the island's mechanic."

"Oh, well, I'll guide you there."

* * *

And guiding Judy, she did. The black cat helped Judy made a cut through the beach, a stench (and shirtless cats) filled fish market, and some quaint insignificant houses. Judy struggled to keep up. The black cat was still going at that unnatural pace. Or Judy was simply too close in comparison to everyone on this island. Now that she had noticed, things were going at high speed around her, especially in the first market.

Both finally stopped. The mechanic house was, thankfully not in some reclusive mountain, or dark woods. It just rested on the northeast side of the island. It was surrounded by houses of similar size and design, except for his neighbor.

The house next door was abandoned. At least, that was what it appeared to be. The front door was boarded up; the potted plants next to it were all withered. That place was in that stage for a long time, demonstrated by traces of age on the boards. However, the windows upstairs were not boarded up, just closed. The pink curtains behind the glass look surprisingly clean. As if someone had washed them yesterday.

Judy felt thankful that the mechanic did not live in that house. She could only imagine the amount of abnormality coming from such scenario. She crossed her fingers, praying for the mechanic to not be too strange and help her get out of this island as soon as possible. Once she found help, she could finally get back to search for Nick.

Mun then said, "Here you go, enjoy your time." She walked off before turning back, saying. "Here're few last words before meeting him. Don't call him 'white ball,' he hates it. Also, be careful, he bites."

Judy gulped down a chunk of her saliva as Mun disappeared into a nearby alley.

Judy rang the doorbell, which was an actual doorbell with a string attached to it. At the end of the string was a small metal weight shaped like a fish. The sound that tiny bell make was astronomically loud. But, Judy would not have to deal with that much longer. At least she hoped so.

While waiting, she had a look at the mechanic's dumpster. Like the title suggest, the metal bin was chockful of broken and twisted machine parts. Those on the top looked quite similar to each other. All had small bent satellite dishes attached to them, held together by copper wires. Judy's sensitive ears picked up some racket behind the door; sounded like someone had toppled over a stack of pots and pans.

Then, a grunt followed. "Argh, Du ma! Chu Nhat ma cung khong duoc yen than." [Argh, Mother fucker! Couldn't even get some peace on a Sunday. ] The voice was obviously male. Judy was surprised to hear him speak in his native language.

The door swung open. A white cat with glasses, a pair of jeans and a bulky overcoat appeared, "May moun cai gi?" [What do you want?]. His eyes were showing sign of sleep depravity; demonstrated by the missing patches of fur underneath. His pronunciation of "gi" had shown his fangs to Judy; all three and a half of them. He looked uncomfortable in that overcoat; a strange fashion choice considering the weather on this island. However, Judy had seen stranger things.

She traced her eyes down. In his hand was a wooden bat, whose tip was covered in copper wires. With the getup, he looked just like a thug to Judy. The only thing missing from the set was a chest covered in tattoos. But, the small clumps of dried blood (or some red liquid) on his right-hand fur were enough to make her more than concern.

The cat squinted his eyes. He soon realized that the 'customer' was different from what he expected. He tilted his head, giving Judy a quick scan with his eyes.

Not wanted to be on the passive ground, Judy spoke up. "Hello, I'm Judy Hopps." The cat's ears perked up the moment he heard she spoke. Judy continued. "Sorry to bother you but, as you can see I desperately need your help with-"

He showed her his palm. "Plane-crashed or Shipwrecked? Nah, definitely shipwrecked. Seeing your clothes is enough to tell me." His appearance and the condition of his fur suggested that he was a few years younger than Judy. But the condescending tone of his voice made her felt small compared to him. Also, being a bit shorter than he did not help.

She held her ground and strengthened her voice. "Yes that's very observant of you, but I really need to get off the island. I need to contact the rescue-"

He chuckled. "Hehehehehe, is that why you here? Who told you to come here?"

"A cat named Mun told me, she said you should be able to fix my phone." She then showed him the soaked, blacked out Carrot phone.

"Mou-n? Oh, you mean Mun. God damn it; you foreigners and your dialects." He then scratched his ears profusely. "But yeah, you came to the right place. Give me the phone, and I'll fix it."

Her ears stood up. She was surprised at his reaction. "Oh, I was-"

"Expecting a witty remark? Well, I ain't got time for that crap. Give me the phone and 1000000 Bac and we are good."

Judy protested and pulled back the phone. "Wait, what?"

He yawned. "What? It's normal for a mechanic to ask for money when he fixes things for you."

"I don't have that kind of money. I don't even know what kind of currency that is. I ship-wrecked for heaven's sake."

The cat put his index and middle finger behind his ear. "Oh, that, doesn't, sounds, like, my, problem." He made a quote unquote gesture. "Sorry lady, that's how the 'normal' world works."

"You can't be serious."

He grinned at her. "You are right, I'm not serious."

 _My god, not again_ , she thought, as that attitude seem to resemble that of Nick during their first encounter. However, she had none of the sympathies for him, just annoyance. She did not say anything afterward, just glared at him.

The cat smirked. "Okay, you want serious? Here is my serious advice to you." He cleared his throat. "You will never get off this island. This place, believe it or not, is cursed by something. And IT doesn't want any of us to leave. Why? How? No one knows, it just is. I can fix your phone, but what you will pick up afterward is this." He took out a smartphone from his pocket. Its screen was broken and battered, but the speaker still worked. And the sound coming from that speaker was the sound emitted by the slug creature. Or at least, that was what Judy could hear. "Hear that? I'm sure that you do. You have such good ears. And no, I don't know what the hell it is, but I don't wanna find out." He put the phone back in his pocket and looked straight at her. "So, stop struggling, and take a nap. Naps seem to solve everything on this hunk of rock. Don't fight against it, join it, and it will take care of you. Don't know where to start? I'll help." He paused. "Hum, judging from the accent, and the roughed hands, you are a farmer aren't you? No, no, farmers don't go on cruise ships. You must be a Zootopian. Heh, some rich inner city jack-hole must have picked you up and made him his wife."

"HEY!"

Bach tilted his head. "Aw, no need to get so upset, it just makes you cuter. And I hate cute things, like kittens. Don't trust any of them."

She stomped her feet down. "You are crossing the LINE there, buddy! I'm a police officer!"

In a mocking fashion, he said. "Oooh, scary, heh, Zootopia must have changed since last year. Well, that's great, then you don't have to work as a farmer on this island." His smile disappeared. "You are better off that way, the soil here is evil. It kills you death. Anyhow, you will be a nice, token rabbit officer. The police serve no purpose here anyway so you will fit right in."

Judy pointed down. "I will not stand here and take-"

"You don't want to take any of this? Well, then I shall respect your wishes." He slammed the door shut. His voiced came through the small mail slot. "Piss off Bun-bun, I ain't got time for mammals like you. Go take a nap."

* * *

Author note:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is one of my first stories so please forgive possible mistakes in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:

The following is a fan-based fiction. Zootopia and its characters are owned by Disney. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well.

* * *

(The song Mirror Lake by Susumu Hirasawa begins to play.)

Chesterization proudly presents

A Zootopia fanfiction

 **Signum**

(Song ends)

 **Chapter 3: Good morning, Officer Hopps**

A series of horrible clanking noises snatched Judy out of her slumber-her alarm clock. Since this was an old-fashioned alarm clock, she could not shut it off by smacking a button on its head. Correction, she could shut it off, by smashing it on the ground. However, cleaning up the aftermath would not be ideal because-

"Oh no, I'm running late." She said it in a panicked tone.

The rabbit quickly got out of her mattress and ran straight to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the cracked mirror; the state of her fur was less than glamorous. Her mind only had shame. This had been going on for a few weeks. Despite setting up an alarm, she still slept through it. While brushing her teeth, she made a mental note. _I should see Doctor Lang. He should be able to fix my sleep cycle._ After washing her mouth, Judy scratched the outer base of her right ear. _Should probably have that checked out, too._ She thought then went back to her bedroom, which took 60 percent of space in her new home.

Judy opened a closet infested with the smell of rotten wood and took out her uniform. The green shaded officer uniform was still there, along with its decorative hat. She quickly changed and headed straight for the door. She skipped breakfast, just like always.

Half an hour later, she was at the station, fully dressed and ready. The Chief, a large gray tabby cat, looked up. His target was the clock. The thing told him that it was 6 AM; the rabbit was an hour late. "Good morning, Miss Hopps." He said in a cold, stern voice.

Judy quickly bowed; almost made her hat fell off. "I'm so sorry Chief."

The Chief smirked. "Heh, no need to worry. I'm just giving you a hard time. Not much happens on this island anyway."

"Still, I'm so sorry Chief. It won't happen again. I promise.

After six hours of doing her patrol and stopping a dispute (just a few cats arguing over the responsibility of a fallen tree) in the South Side neighborhood, Judy rested under the shade of a tree. Before she could accidentally dose off, a snarky voice came from above. "Haha, nice outfit chump!" Judy looked up. A piece of greasy fish cake fell on her face. It was a white cat in glasses, overcoat, and Jeans, lying on a branch of a tree. He had just finished the island's signature snack it seemed. The cat then stretched his leg then resumed. "Surprise to see that they have your size. But heh, what did I say? You'll fit right in."

She pointed at the white cat. "Sir, what are you doing up there? She paused. "And what are you talking about? "

The cat licked his right hand, before saying. "Eh Officer, aren't you going to report me? I've illegally climbed this tree."

"What?"

He sucked on his fingers. "I'm running short on napkins. Your tickets would do just fine."

"I would appreciate it if you-"

"Take you more seriously. Like that's…Oh crap!" His tone of voice rapid shifted as his back lost traction on the tree bark.

Judy's hands covered her mouth the moment after the cat crashed to the ground with a loud crack.

The cat then held on to his left knee. Judy could see a strange lump near his hand. The rabbit was sure that the lump was not a simple bump on his knee. "Oh, son of a-Argh" He cried out while making a face.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"BITCH! does it look like I'm alright? I fell from a god damn tree!" With his left hand held his knee. His right reached for the pocket in his overcoat. He took out a small thermal bottle.

"I'll get Doctor Lang," Judy had said before the cat held his hand up.

"No need, I got herbs."

"What?"

The cat opened the thermal bottle. He quickly poured its content on to his jean, right where his broken knee should be. A blood red, fluid liquid soon soaked his jean. The cat's expression soon relaxed. He shifted the way he held his knee. This time, he got both hands on it. He took a deep breath before-

"No sir, don't do it!"

Another CRACK sound emitted. Did not give Judy the chance to say anything; the cat jumped back on his feet. "Ah, much better." He shook his leg some more, getting some of the 'herb' liquid onto the ground. He picked up his bottle and put it back to his overcoat. "Well, now would you excuse me. I got to f off before causing you any more trouble. That's what we want, yes." And just like that, the cat nonchalantly walked passes Judy. The rabbit just stood there, not knowing how to react.

Gaining enough distance, the cat looked back and said. "It's a shame to see you becoming one of us. I was actually hoping for something different. But alas, I was bamboozled." He shrugged. "I guess that old life of your doesn't mean that much to you."

Judy frowned. "Old life?"

"You just need to give a few more tickets, and before you know it, you are a lieutenant." He saluted her, saying. "Hang in there."

The tone and attitude rang something in her head. "Wait" She shouted, signaling the cat to stop.

And he did. The white cat smirked and crossed his arms. "Ah, you remember now, huh?"

With her hand held the right side of her head. A migraine struck her. "I, how did I ended up like this?"

"You took a nap, didn't you? See, I told you that it fixes everything on this island."

She approached him and asked. "What happened to me?"

"Pf, how should I know? And if I know, why should I tell you? I have only seen you twice. And the last time was a month ago."

Violet eyes opened wide. "WHAT?"

The cat shrugged. "Time is convoluted on this island. Once you are one of us, it just flies."

"It can't be, have anyone been looking for me?"

He pointed his finger to her nose. "That is a hard, no."

"How is that-"

"They either don't care about you or, well, they would most likely think you are dead."

Judy's mouth opened in disbelief while her hand and arm just let go. "But, how can they not see this island?"

"I don't know, and how should I know? I'm just a lazy jack-hole who couldn't give less of crap." He then looked at his left, pretended to look at a watch. "Well, you wasted enough of my time, I got to go." He changed his tone. "Don't be sad, life here on this island is not that hard. It's super convenience, to be honest." He walked off to another direction. "Forget about your life. Instead, learn, adapt, and move on. That's what we as animals supposed to do."

Judy ran in front him, pleading. "Please, I know you can help."

Hands on hip her said, "Well, what makes you think that huh?" He moved his head a little closer. He looked her dead in the eyes. He whispered. "What if I'm just like any one of these halfwits, mindless and complacent drones. I recommend you just take it. Let Mother Nature take care of you. Forget about your old life. Here on this island, we have delicious fish cakes. The taste will grow on you." The taste probably would, but the smell from his breath would not. He stopped for a chuckle. "It's so much easier to work with the world instead of changing it, am I right?"

With a stern expression of her own, Judy said. "Hey, you know something, don't you?"

"May I do, maybe I don't, what different it is going to make?" He shrugged once more.

"You can get me out of this island."

"You're saying it, not me. Hate to burst your bubble, but I don't know how to get off this island. Because if I do, I would not be here, dumbass." He put his hand on her shoulder ever so casually. "Face it rabbit, we are trapped here. And there is no way out." He looked to his right and squinted his eyes. "Actually, there is something we can do. On one condition though."

Judy had gone quiet. This cat was constantly shifting her thought and focus from one end to the next. Nothing come out of her mouth would ever not make her look like an idiot to him.

"Okay, I'll probably help you out, if and only if, you come to my house tomorrow." He chuckled. "You see, if you manage to will yourself out of this island's most basic of curses, then I'll decide that you are worthy my time. If not, nothing's change. How about that?" He gave her a full teeth grin. "Simple right?"

"Right!" Judy said with a determined nod. She knew that bombarding him with questions would not help in any mean.

"Fantastic, in that case. I'll see you, tomorrow. Hahahahaha, or not." And just like that, he walked toward the town, disappeared from Judy's sight. His head held high, laughing for thirty seconds then stopped for breath and coughing violently.

* * *

Author note:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is one of my first stories so please forgive possible mistakes in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer:

The following is a fan-based fiction. Zootopia and its characters are owned by Disney. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well.

* * *

(The song Mirror Lake by Susumu Hirasawa begins to play.)

Chesterization proudly presents

A Zootopia fanfiction

 **Signum**

(Song ends)

 **Chapter 4: Insight**

The next morning, outside of Bach's house

The front door swung open, violently. "Argh, Du ma! Chu Nhat ma cung khong duoc yen than." [Argh, Mother fucker! Couldn't even get some peace on a Sunday. ]. He said the same annoyed and condescending tone as the day before, and one month back. He squinted his eyes in the harsh sunlight, before looking at his visitor. "Holy shit! It's you." He spoke upon seeing Judy.

With eyes struggling to stay open, the rabbit retorted. "I kept my part of the bargain."

"Yeah, look like it. Damn, you look like hell. What did you do?" He had a quick look around the neighborhood. The cats in the area were giving strange looks; strange to him at least. "You know what? It's hot outside, it's horrible. Come inside then explain later." He invited her into his home.

The first thing Judy notice was the scratching on the wall. They looked like claws marks. It would not take a genius to know who made them. Though, the thing that struck Judy's curiosity was the patterns these marks were making. They were circles. Circles with different sizes and sometimes overlapping each other. From a distance, they look like ripples on the surface of an unease pond. Judy's ears twitched at a series of loud banging sound. The cat was kicking some metal parts and tools on the floor, creating a clean path for Judy.

"Sorry about the mess, haven't had the chance to clean up." He smiled. "Didn't expect visitors." He then dragged a few large trash bags to the side, clearing up the small hallway a bit. Judy did not know if it was the effect of going through a night without sleep, but, she did not notice any strange sense in this cat's house. The only thing that was somewhat different was the smell of flower coming from a locked basement.

As he cleared away the random items on the floor, the cat led Judy to his living room. The place was not much different than the rest of his house (the parts Judy had seen so far). The walls were scratched with the same patterns, machine clusters on the floor. The only different was a tea table and few plastic stools in the middle of the room. The cat offered her a seat, which she took without question.

"Man, nail a tail on my butt and call me Eeyore. Didn't think you would come." He reached under the table and pulled out a cup and a teapot. "Tea?"

Judy shook her head. "We have a deal. I kept my part of the bargain, and now it's your turn."

He put the pot and cup on the table. "Hehehe, true that. And I will happily oblige." He scratched the back of his head. "Set your expectation low, I just have some insights into the matter. A mere drop in a bottomless sea of mystery-" He paused for a quick chuckle. "Hehe, I should be a poet once I get out of here." And immediately he shut himself down. "Nah, I can't compete with the professional, you know what I mean?"

Judy crossed her arms while kept her right eye shut. "Hey, focus."

"I know, I know. Geez, you are killing the mood." He then put the teapot's spout in his mouth and drank. Afterward, he wiped his mouth and said. "But before that, I'm curious, how did you will yourself out of this?"

"It's pretty obvious, I, I stayed up all night."

The cat nodded. "Oh, how does it make you feel?"

"Horrible." Judy shook her head. "I feel, disorientating. But I couldn't go to sleep. I was afraid that if I do, I might, forget and, and-"

"And?"

"Just wake up like yesterday, carrying business as usual." She shook her head. "How did, working as an officer in a foreign country, after a shipwreck become ' _usual'_ for me? It makes me more anxious the more I think of it."

"Yeah, strange huh? Sometimes, the scariest thing seems so, mundane." He quickly clapped his hands. "Well, I have some good news for you."

Judy's ears perked up. "Really?"

"Yup, I can remove the thing that causes your, assimilation."

"Assimilation? You mean."

"Yeah, you can sleep from now on, without worrying about becoming Hon Dao's 'Officer Hopps'" He then reached his head closer to her and whispered. "But, I must warn you. This, is gonna hurt, a lot."

She rubbed her temples. "Whatever it takes; I just want to get through this and go home."

"Well, I can't promise any of those, but, heh, if you want to." He stood up. "Come, follow me."

He then led her to a different room. This one looked like a dentist's place, completed with a chair, rusted equipment, and the sterilized air.

The cat walked to the chair, dusted off the seat. "The thing that affected you, that turns you into one of us, it's a bug."

"A bug?"

"Yeah, do you feel something strange in your ear lately?"

Her eyes opened wide. "I, I do."

The cat nodded. "Yeah, you probably figure that one out."

She held down her right ear. "You mean, there is something in my ear?"

"Yes, it's a bug. It's gross but-"He shrugged, "Yeah, it's been there for a month. You might wanna sit down." Seeing how shocked she was, he asked. "Need any help?"

She shook her head, instead worked her way to the dentist chair and rested on it, the same way she did for her dentist a few months ago. The cat then opened a cabinet and took out a large jar of murky liquid. After setting the jar on an equipment desk nearby, he said. "The bug, it emits this infrasound that essentially fucks with your brain during your sleep. Ever try to cram for an exam by paying someone to read them out to you while you are as sleep?"

She shook her head.

"No? What, did you stay up late and study like a nerd in that police academy of yours? Anyhow, the point is, your brain is easier to take in sounds when you are asleep. Since it's infrasound, you cannot, practically hear it, so it doesn't wake you up. But, well, it still affects your brain." He disinfected what seemed like an extra-long pair of tweezers. "So now, I'm going to remove the bug, like a bad tooth."

She looked at him, squinted her eyes. "I thought you are a mechanic."

"I am, but the jackhole who originally owned this house isn't." hands on hips, he said, "The original owner of this place is a dental technician and a dentist. The guy moved to Zootopia to become a comic artist a few years back. I just take his place because it was empty.' He chuckled to himself. "Heh, I bet he probably live on the street by now."

"What is his name?"

"Chun Chi I To."

"Oh, he is a very famous comic artist in Zootopia."

He frowned, said in an annoyed tone. "Bitch, you have that information, and you couldn't keep it to yourself."

Decided that it would be best not to upset whoever was going to put that tweezers in her ear, she decided not to dwell on the subject. This is something, someone like her would not normally do. But, she had to do it. She was pretty much putting her fate in a stranger that she had never met, but what can she do. He is the only chance she had in this strange place.

He put the tweezers on top of the jar then crouched down. Once he got up, in his hands were straps.

Judy's eyes were teeming with concern. "Is this necessary?"

"Yes, you might squirm while I tried to remove it." He looked at the jar. "See this thing here? It's a strong acid, I really do not want you to knock it over. This is the thing that's gonna kill the bug. I'm gonna toss it inside once I remove it. Also, keeping your head still helps."

"Do you have, eh, sedative?"

"I do, It's gonna knock you out for a bit, but, the straps, are just in case. Don't worry, I promise not to do anything horrible to you." After he had strapped down her arms and legs, "Besides, you are an officer, suck it up." He turned her head to the side and put a strap on it. "Okay, hold still, don't want the needle to break." He then injected the sedative into her. It would not take long before the drug knocked her to sleep. She did not sleep at all the night before after all.

A few minutes later.

"AGHHHHHHHH." Judy's ghastly scream filled the room.

"Bitch, keep it down. Your screaming is messing with my concentration. Just a bit more." That did not stop her from screaming. She only made it louder as she could physical feel something refuse to let go of its tendrils in her flesh. She felt a rip within her head and heard a faint, alien sound afterward.

The cat grunted. "Get in there you little fucker." What came before Judy passed out was a sizzling sound, and that alien sound played significantly louder.

A while later, Judy woke up and saw the cat was whipping sweat off his forehead. "Whew, my God. That was, easier than that one time." Seeing Judy's opened eyes, he said, with a smile. "How do you feel?"

She screamed, much smaller compare to the last one. "Aghhhhhhhhh."

"Heh, as expected." He dropped the blood stained tweezer and a few red cotton balls onto the floor. The jar was nowhere to be seen. "I have already put some herb on. It helps with the wound." Seeing Judy just winced and held on to the base of her ear made him said. "Sorry for the, yeah, thing. I can't make it gentler. That bug has been there for a month. Can't expect to just take it out like a bandage."

Surprised, she said. "Are you, apologizing?"

"Yeah, so? You want me to act like an absolute cock-end. Cause I can do that." He offered her his hand, helping her get up. "Listen, we wanna get out of here, so let's work on that, a common goal. Bickering wouldn't help much. Neither is asking stupid questions."

He then guided her back to the living room.

Judy asked, "So, you have any idea what else is going on?"

"Nope, I won't give you anything else. If I give you too much insight at once, you'll go mad. It's for your own good." He drank some more tea. "Here is the gist, The Island is well, cursed by something. I have some idea what that thing is. That thing is sound." Judy looked down, recalling the moment she set foot on the island. "Did you, hear strange things once you are in this island?" Her wide violet eyes told him to continue. "Sound, it's everywhere; even one that we cannot hear. And that's not the strangest thing these sound could do." He gave her a stern look. "You came from Zootopia aren't you? Anyone can be anything right? Well, here, anything can happen to you. Horrible and indescribable things." He coughed. "Sorry, the stupid sound also makes me sometimes speak in trailer-ese. What I want to say is, the curse of the sound could do pretty much anything on this island. Whatever happens, they most likely would not be up your alley. More like up your ass. You are no longer a dumb rabbit, but, that just means it going to get worse for you." He stood up. "Well, I'm getting pretty tired, how about we take a break?"

"Wait, that's it?"

"Bitch, I just pull a god damn nightmare from your ear. It's exhausting. Besides, you need sleep for what to come." He then slapped his knee. "Oh, almost forgot, you cannot sleep without these." He moved to a drawer in the living room. The cat opened it and took out two round devices. Their designs made them look like eyes.

He gave them to Judy and said. "Put these deep in your ears, they will prevent another bug from coming in. Also, it can block out some frequencies. Just keep in mind, some of those frequencies are there to mask the reality from you. So, expect to see a lot of horrific things more often." He gave her a wide grin. "Welcome to Hon Dao, rabbit! Enjoy your stay. You can call me Alex, and I'll be your guide." He coughed once more. "Damn it, trailer-ese again!"

* * *

Author note:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is one of my first stories so please forgive possible mistakes in the future and help me fix them.


End file.
